Thursday, 21 April 2011

You should read your work aloud. Definitely. When you’re alone, when you can’t be overheard, speak the whole thing. Don't mumble or whisper it under your breath. As though you were reading it to someone, which you are (yourself). It will help. It is a little tedious, maybe even excruciating. It will help.

But there are some drawbacks you need to be aware of.

When you read the text to yourself you will be able to spot basic errors. Typos and missed punctuation. Sentences that don’t make sense or you forgot to finish. Sometime you will have written a line one way, then decided on another way, and somehow managed to leave them both on the page. Just the way it sounds and the feel of the words in your mouth will tell you when something isn’t quite right.

However, when you write, you think of what you mean, then you choose the words that convey the meaning.

Meaning —> Words

When a reader reads they take the words in first, then extrapolate the meaning.

Words —> Meaning

When a writer reads his own work, this happens:

Meaning —> Words —> Meaning

The writer already knows what he meant so he doesn’t get the experience the reader does. When it comes to reading your own work it is very easy to attach meaning that you intended the writing to have, but never actually put on the page. This is especially true of dialogue.

When you read out your own dialogue you know what the character means. You naturally say it in that intonation and attitude. Even if the punctuation isn’t there or the implication is ambiguous, you will say it how it is meant to be said. The reader does not have that advantage and will either be unsure what the character means, make a lucky guess, or assume the wrong thing.

You have to be careful with dialogue. Don't rush through it assuming your intent is obvious. It isn't.

The way to fix this is either to rely on critique from a third party, they will spot the probelm instantly. Or by being aware of this possibility and looking at dialogue not only how you intend it, but how it might be interpreted. It’s not that hard to do if like me you go over the same text over and over until you can see all its additional meanings, some of which you might even want to keep.

Really good point about meaning -> words -> meaning when you are reading out loud. I remember someone suggested reading your pages out loud and out of order, to kind of shake your authorly expectations :)

Last week you said you'd be interested in more about my macro-tension and micro-tension idea, re: literary. Ze post iz up!

This is really good advice. So often after I posted something I read over it and realize I've made a typo. I make my son read out loud as well. He has A.D.D. I was told it would help him understand what he is reading better. Found your blog via the A-Z challenge. Following You! Come on over and say "hi".Blue Velvet Vincent

Wow! This is an AMAZING post. I find reading aloud extremely helpful when editing or reviewing my work. Loved your insights on how writers read and readers read - very interesting... and a bit mind boggling! He, he. In a good way. Thanks so much for the helpful advice!

This ties in directly with a conversation I was having a couple days ago about why I hate opening with dialog. My point in that discussion was that, when a writer starts with a line of dialog, they already have the scene set in their head. They know who the character is, who they're talking to, they have the context for the line. For the reader, it's a voice in a void.

I often read my work aloud. I find there are times where I naturally substitute a word while I am reading in place of what is written, and those substitutions usually improve the flow.

@Frankie - I agree. There is a place for the voice in the void, like at the start of a movie when the screen in black and you hear someone speak without knowing who it is, but that effect is easy to misuse or to use for no reason. Even if it's intentional, there should be a purpose to that intention, and there rarely is.

I always read my writing out loud, even if it's just for a sentence I wrote. Only then can you catch the mistakes and see that it doesn't flow like you thought it did. And the sooner you figure this out the better. :D

It's so true - reading out loud makes ALL the difference. Beta readers are also a necessity. I will have to look into this Kindle text to speech function (mentioned by @laura Pauling) - sounds interesting...

Super advice. I have a writer friend who reads her own work aloud beautifully. When I attempt to read her story, however, the words don't flow and it sometimes feels like work. We all need to make it easy for our readers. I'm so glad you pointed that out.

Sorry, this time I simply can't agree with you! It depends on what sense-type you are, e.g. my strongest sense is the visual one, my weakest hearing. When I have to read something out loud, I have to concentrate on the reading, that after finishing I'm not able to say anything about the meaning, the significance, the logic or whatever of the text, that I've just read a second before. Another fact is, that I totally lose interest and concentration on audio books! That for, I have to use other techniques for this problem: like visualisation like a movie of what I've read, paragraph for paragraph or chapter for chapter! Some other writers with other dominant senses might use, if the scene feels right!

Loved the words -> meaning; meaning -> words point you made. Hadn't fully thought of it like that before. Agree about reading aloud - even if just to see what word patterns etc might trip up the un-pre-primed reader (like that one might!)Another great post - thanks

This is definitely something to think about - reading aloud is also really great to check out your pacing and phrasing, the flow. 3rd-party critiques have often taught me that not everyone gets my "meaning". Thanks for the reminder!

Definitely something I plan to do when I'm getting ready to edit. Reading out loud really does help. One of my English teachers in high school made us read our papers out loud to her. It seemed weird at the time.

My spouse reads her wip to me constantly. I don't like it but listen anyway. I deplore audio books. Am old school, love the printed word. After she reads to me I say"May I read it too?" and I get more out of it that way.But the author reading it aloud to oneself I think is a good thing.Thank You for your post.